Fukitsu
by Doom West
Summary: During her mission in The Land of Waves Anko Mitarashi has regained more than her memories. As she and her team, plus one, return to Konoha how will this ghost from her past effect the village and it's inhabitants?


Hana Inuzuka blew an errant strand of brown hair out of her face as she locked the door to Konoha's premier veterinary clinic. It had been a surprisingly hectic day for her after a fire had started in an apartment complex across the village. While in and of itself the fire would have typically only hurt a handful of animals the someone on the third floor had been having a 'playdate' for their and their friend's dogs. How the heck they managed to fit thirteen dogs into a normal civilians apartment was beyond her but in the end it was irrelevant. She and her coworkers managed to save most of the animals, three had succumbed to their burns and one was just too old to withstand the heavy amount of smoke inhalation. All she was looking forward to now was going home and washing the smell of burnt flesh out of her clothes and hair. How to get the smell out of her nose she didn't know, perhaps she should just squeeze some of her shampoo straight into nostrils?

Her walk home was wonderfully short interrupted by the occasional thanks of passing civilians for the care of their various pets. One kid even thanked her for helping her fish. Hana suppressed a snort. Never in her entire career had she healed a fish. Most likely the little girl had found the fish floating belly up one morning and her parents told her they were going to take it to the vet and bought a new one instead of explain one of the harder facts of life.

Passing through the gateway to her families compound she spotted her brother talking rather heatedly with his partner Akumaru who was sitting ramrod straight like a little soldier. What exactly Kiba could be telling him while waving his arms around like that was lost on her.

Sighing happily as she closed the door to the house she still shared with her mother and brother Hana kicked her sandals off and made her way to the kitchen to grab a snack before hopping into the shower.

"Oh hey mom, didn't know you were home." she greeted as she passed the living room.

Finding it odd that the older woman hadn't replied Hana stopped her foraging and popped her head out of the doorway and watched her for a few moments. Tsume Inuzuka was uncharacteristically quiet as she sat on the couch staring at the ceiling.

"You ok mom?" Hana asked coming up behind her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Huh?" Tsume said as her eyes focused on the face of her daughter.

"Are you alright mom? You seemed pretty far away."

Tsume looked over to Hana who had taken a seat in one of the adjacent chairs before returning gaze upward.

"I'm fine lily pad." she replied using the nickname for her daughter that she hadn't used in years as she absently ran a thumb over the object in hands.

Now Hana wasn't one to pry into her mother's business but she was starting to get worried. Sure the Inuzuka matriarch had her moments where she would get that far away look in her eyes as she thought about comrades long gone, any veteran shinobi did, but this felt different. Like what ever memories were going through the (female ninja)'s mind carried an extra weight.

Drawn by the small movement Hana noticed that her mother was running her fingers over a palm sized dragonfly. It's body looked like it was carved out of a single piece of jade polished to an impossible degree and it's wings were the clearest glass she had ever seen with veins of gold running through them. The eyes were made of amber bring a warmth that made the small piece look incredibly life like. She almost expected it to get up and fly away.

"What's that?" she asked.

Tsume looked back to the younger woman through the tresses of her wild like mane.

"A gift."

This surprised Hana, she knew her mother had been alone for a while, ever since her and Kiba's father had run off. Maybe she was getting back to dating but didn't want either of them to know because it might upset them.

"From whom?" Hana said with girl like curiosity.

A few minutes passed in silence before she got her answer.

"From the man who should have been your father." Tsume replied in an almost whisper.

Hana looked at her mother quizzically.

"What do you mean 'should have been my father'?"

Her question was followed by another lapse of silence. She was about to ask again when the older woman took in a breath as if to steady herself for what she was about to say.

"Have I ever told you the story of the Dragonfly Princess?" Tsume asked glancing at her daughter as a look of confusion passed on her face.

Hana shook her head wondering where this was going.

"A long time ago there was once a great pond that was home to the Emperor of the dragonflies. He was great and noble leader, uniting and caring for all the animals that inhabited his lands. He even left his palace of reeds open to his subjects so all could partake in wealth of everyone's hard work. Because of this he was much loved.

"But as with all beloved leaders some grew to resent him and wanted his power for themselves. Several of his advisers hatched a plot that would secure them control of the emperor's lands so they could split up his kingdom between them. Hiring a great toad mercenary named Gamato they had him kidnap the Emperor's youngest and most beloved daughter. For the return of his daughter the Emperor would have to give up his throne and sign his kingdom over to Gamato.

"A group of the kingdom's most loyal samurai were sent out to kill Gamato and rescue the princess. For three days and nights there was no word from the samurai and on the morning of the fourth day a raft carrying the heads of the samurai floated into the docks of the palace. The Emperor immediately called a council of his most trusted advisers and generals. For three more days they debated and argued but none could come up with a plan. The Emperor soon began to despair, if they could not come up with a way to rescue his daughter soon he would have to give up his kingdom or lose her.

"At the end of the fourth day a servant approached the Emperor saying he knew how to rescue the princess. The advisers looked down upon him saying he was too low of birth and the generals laughed at him questioning how someone without military training could succeed where they had failed. The Emperor called for silence and told the young dragonfly to share his plan.

"The servant said he would get close to Gamato and drink a poison before he would get the toad to eat him. The poison in his body would then be absorbed by Gamato killing him and allowing the princess to be rescued. The Emperor was torn at the thought of one of his subjects willingly giving up his life to save his daughter knowing the very act to would kill him. In the end he agreed to the servants plan.

"As the servant was about to set out the Emperor's eldest daughter burst into the room begging her father to change his mind for she and the servant were in love. Quieting the cries of his beloved the servant told her she could always fall in love again but she would not be able to get her sister back once she died. Kissing her forehead he left the palace and traveled to Gamato's camp. Swallowing the poison he approached the toad goading the great warrior into eating him. Minutes later Gamato died allowing a small group of samurai who had followed the servant freed the princess and returned her safely to her father."

Tsume stood up after finishing her story ignoring the obvious question on her daughter's mind. Even after all these years she still wasn't ready to talk about what had happened. Idly she wondered if she would ever get over it but quickly decided it didn't matter. That hole would forever remain gaping in her heart.

"You should shower, you smell like a barbeque." she said as she walked back to her bedroom pausing at the hall that lead away from the living room.

"And don't forget to scrub the smell out of the cushions."

Before she disappeared laughing at Hana's defeated look.

* * *

Anko Mitarashi stood on the deck of a ship that she didn't bother trying to find out it's name as she tuned out the 'I'm so evil you can't possibly beat me' speech spewing forth from Amachi's now fishy mouth. The man, sea monster, thing didn't have anything close to Orochimaru's oratory prowess or even that blonde gaki, Naruto's charisma. Overall it was a very dry and poor performance. Honestly the man wasn't even close to being powerful, his oh so precious project, really only made him a better swimmer. The breathing underwater part was pretty cool she admitted but was ultimately useless if you didn't plan on living on the sea floor.

Turning her eyes to the genin she was babysitting she wondered how they were so enraptured by the fountain of crap spewing from fish boy's face but chalked it up to them being amateurs. Yamanaka Ino was busy glaring at Amachi, her normally immaculate platinum blonde ponytail frizzed by the ocean air. Her choice of purple clothing was disheveled and covered in a small layer of dust from the destruction of Orochimaru's old laboratory on Demon's Island. Naruto looked much the same only his horrendously orange sported a few new holes, probably from some falling debris.

It looked like Naruto was shouting something back at Amachi but Anko tuned that out too. If anything this entire situation was cliché to a sickening degree. The little gaki was saying something about Isirabi not being a monster if she was reading his lips correctly. Deciding the situation currently didn't need her interference Anko's mind turned to her recently returned memories. While perturbed that the recollections had knocked her unconscious she was ecstatic about what she had learned, re-learned, whatever. She was just glad to know she had willingly left that snake bastard. Despite the closure she still felt like there was still something missing.

Anko blinked back to reality when she saw Amachi going through some hand seals. Cursing silently at herself for letting her guard down she moved to intercept him before he finished when she noticed his arms had stopped midway to making the next seal. His eyes were widened in surprise and pain as his mouth hung open in a silent scream. Skidding to a halt a few meters away from the Amachi she wondered why he was standing there as if he was paralyzed. Maybe his experiment hadn't been as complete as he had thought and now was suffering from side effect. Hopefully it was fatal.

Amachi's body fell forward, his nose crunching against the wooden deck. His shirt was slowly becoming soaked with blood from two holes where his kidney's were. Standing over the body was a person dressed head to toe in black. Their head was completely covered by a featureless helmet that seemed able to prevent light from reflecting off of it. A long sleeved, skin tight shirt covered their torso, it's neck disappearing into the bottom of the helmet while the sleeves ran into a pair of gloves with hardened knuckles. A belt, that seemed more for holding two pouches than holding up the slightly baggy cargo pants, wrapped around their waist. A pair of modified blacked shinobi sandals covered their feet. The outfit gave the newcomer a very streamlined looked and their stance screamed dangerous on a level that somehow seemed more dangerous than anyone Anko had ever seen, even her old master Orochimaru.

As Anko, Ino, and Naruto took in the stranger they seemed to be judging them. The covered head turned slowly as it took in it's surroundings. Coming to Anko it cocked slightly to the left as if the person was confused.

"Taiyaki-chan?" they asked, their voice sounding harsh and echoing from a filter in the helmet.

Anko felt an headache building similar to what she had felt when she had first passed out from an onslaught of memories. When she heard the stranger speak it felt like a dam had broken inside of her head before the darkness claimed her.

* * *

Anko woke up screaming with tears running down her face. Glancing at her surroundings she noticed she was sitting in a bed. The sweat soaked sheets twisted around her naked body glowing from the beam of moon light filtering in through the window on the far side of the room. Next to the window was a tall, eight drawer dresser. Sitting in a chair facing the bed was an equally naked man.

His pale skin glowed in a manner that could easily have been mistaken for bioluminescence. A small number of scars that looked like they had been caused by kunai littered the smooth surface of his body. The contours of his muscles cast valleys of shadows giving him a definition only possible in works of art. Shaggy white hair framed his face and Anko could feel eyes she knew to be a beautiful deep orange staring at her with concern.

"How are you feeling Taiyaki-chan?" he asked.

Anko opened her mouth to reply only to have to door to the room kicked open. The sound of splintering door frame masking the click of the light switch.

Light flooded the the room causing Anko to hiss and rub her eyes furiously as the brightness burned her retinas. Maybe not quite burn them, but it hurt like hell either way. The Jonin heard someone squeak as she tried to wipe the tears out of her eyes. Blinking rapidly as her sight returned Anko saw Ino crouched in the doorway with a kunai drawn sporting a heavy blush, the door secured to the wall by the embedded knob.

For what must have felt like an eternity the young kunoichi stared at the two naked adults as her brain seemed to have stopped functioning. She was knocked out of stupor when a kid wearing a large beige jacket and a pair of sunglasses even if it was the middle of the night walked up behind her. The parts of his face that weren't covered up by the high collar of his coat slowly turned a deep crimson matching the girl in front of him. His pushed up his glasses further up his nose in embarrassment.

"Is everything alright Fukitsu-san?" he asked.

"It is Shino-kun, though it seems Ino-chan was a little over eager in her rush to check on us." the now named, white haired man replied turning his gaze to the purple clad kunoichi who seemed to be trying to look everywhere but at him.

"You are aware you will be paying for the damages." Fukitsu said drawing the young girls attention before she was reminded he was sitting in the nude.

"O-of course Fukitsu-san." she stammered.

"We bid you a good night." Shino said dragging Ino back out into the hallway towards their individual rooms. The embarrassed girl tried to close the door on their way out but it had just lazily swung open again, creaking on it's strained hinges.

Shaking his head in amusement Fukitsu closed the door securing it with the back of the chair he had been sitting in when he and Anko had been interrupted. The room was bathed in darkness as he turned off the light. He had always felt the most comfortable at night, probably a side effect of his childhood, but ultimately the reason was moot. Settling himself on the foot of the bed he leaned back against the wall. The cool plaster sending a chill up his spine as goosebumps covered his body.

Turning his gaze to the purple haired woman he saw her staring towards the floor with her knees pulled up under her chin. She looked so incredibly lost. It made him think back to when they were just a couple of kids running around the streets of Konoha. And just for a moment he could see the six year old visage of his first friend. He blinked and the image was gone.

"Clothes?" Anko asked in a whisper.

"They're drying in the bathroom. Yours were rather dirty from your foray into Orochimaru's base and you try wearing the same thing for twelve years without washing it." Fukitsu supplied with a smile. It was good to be talking to his Taiyaki-chan again.

Anko flinched at the blaise reply. It seems her first round of renewed memories had just been the tip of the iceberg that was her missing past. At least with her recent revelation Anko knew why Inuzuka Tsume always gave her the cold shoulder. She tried to look at the face of her oldest friend only for her eyes seemed to slide off of him. Finally, with a gargantuan effort, she managed to lock onto his smiling face. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes. The numbness she had been feeling up to that point shattered like a mirror as she drowned in emotion. Lunging forward Anko buried her face into his chest sobbing and mumbling incoherent apologies barely registering the pair of arms that wrapped her shaking frame.

Fukitsu was mildly surprised when Anko had thrown herself at him, at least she wasn't trying to have sex with him in some misguided attempt to make up for what had happened. Not that her crying was much better. Really the two were at about the same level. The only difference was that they were, well, different.

Wrapping his arms around the distraught woman he comforted her until her shaky breaths slowed until they were peaceful and even. She had fallen asleep on him. Briefly he noted she had grown up into quite the attractive woman before he too decided to get some sleep. There would be plenty of time for questions later. At least until the Hokage had him executed.

Anko tried to burrow further into whatever wonderful mattress she was currently sleeping on. Whoever had designed it was a genius. It was warm, soft, yet had an underlying hardness that added a nice bit of support, and had a gentle rocking motion that reminded her being on a boat at sea. Overall it was a heavenly experience though the cloth it was made out of was rather strange. It felt almost like skin.

Sighing happily she was content to go back to sleep when a familiar scent filled her nose bringing reality crashing down on her like a ton of bricks. Really hard, sharp, and irregularly shaped bricks. Fully opening her eyes she found she was indeed asleep on a nude Fukitsu. In the day light Anko could now make out some of the details she had missed last night either from the dark or simple mental overload. Around his neck like a collar was an intricate tattoo made up of interwoven lines with odd flecks of ink here and there. The top of and underside of his wrists also bore tattoos, only these seemed to be some what circular in shape. The only thing they seemed to have in common was the black ink they were made out of.

Sitting up Anko looked to the face of her bed mate to find him equally awake and looking at her with twinkling orange eyes. A color almost identical to the material her skirt was made out of she noted absently.

"Good morning to you Taiyaki-chan." Fukitsu said with a smile.

A mumbled good morning was all he got in reply as Anko looked away from clutching the sheets to her chest a blush burning across her cheeks. Looking down he noticed that he was uncovered and sporting the typical teenage male morning reaction.

"It's good to know that still works. There's not telling what Tondo-hime would have done if it didn't." He said completely ignoring Anko's embarrassment.

"Where are my clothes?" she asked pulling the cover's off the bed as she stood.

"Forgotten already? They're hanging up in the bathroom. I washed them because they were pretty dirty, plus that coat looked too nice to have blood stains on it."

The kunoichi said nothing as she disappeared into the bathroom. Reappearing in the doorway she tossed Fukitsu's clothes at him before closing an locking the door. The sound of water starting let him know that Anko was taking a shower. Shaking his head he started to get dressed when someone knocked on the room's broken door.

Kicking the chair holding it shut the hinges groaned as the abused piece of wood swung lazily open. Out in the hall were the three Genin he had met yesterday, Aburame Shino, Uzumaki Naruto, and Yamanaka Ino all with bags on their backs. Naruto was yawning with an impossibly wide mouth while Ino seemed to be trying to look everywhere but at Fukitsu. The movement of him pulling on his shirt grabbed her attention before she let out a small squeak her entire face turning bright red.

"What's wrong Ino? Are you not feeling well? You're looking a little red." Naruto asked bringing has face an inch away from Ino's.

"Ah! It's nothing you idiot. Get away from me!" she said shoving his face away roughly. "I'm going to be waiting in the lobby."

"Good morning Fukitsu-san." Shino greeted ignoring the byplay between his two teammates. "Is Anko-san feeling better?"

"Seems to be, she's in the shower right now. We'll be leaving when she's done." the white haired shinobi replied ignoring the shift in the bug-user's shoulders at the mention of their team leader being in the nude. He had never known why people had always been so bent out of shape about the naked human body. Maybe it had to do with the fact people could be ready to mate at the drop of a hat. Whatever the reason it was something beyond him and honestly it didn't matter to him. If everyone was going to insist on being so silly he'd let them.

Shino nodded and grabbed Naruto by the collar before the orange clad ninja could invade their team leader's room.

"We'll be waiting in the lobby." he said dragging Naruto with as much dignity as he could muster. Being around the man whom he and Ino had found naked with an equally unclothed Mitarashi Anko when they had forced their way into the room last night left him flustered and embarrassed. The less he had to be around them the better. At least until he returned to his emotional equilibrium.

A few moments after the Genin had disappeared Anko had stepped out of the bathroom drying her purple locks with a towel around her shoulders in one hand and brushing her teeth with the other.

"What did they want?" Fukitsu translated from the garbled mess that passed for a question.

"To let us know that they'll be waiting for us in the lobby. I think they think we had sex last night. At least Shino-kun and Ino-chan seemed to, Naruto-kun was completely oblivious to anything that happened."

Anko snorted before spitting into the sink.

"The little gaki's would think something like that. Bunch of idiots." she mumbled wiping her mouth off with the towel before tossing it onto the floor.

Taking a few minutes she watched her roommate finish getting dressed. Happiness and Guilt gripped her heart with equal measure. The urge to either run from this specter of her past or just bury her face into his chest and have his arms wrap around her keeping the monsters of the world at bay was overwhelming. It was taking all of her strength just to remain in his presence. Her stomach clenched almost painfully as he looked up at her having just finished tying his boots.

"Lets go, there's not telling what else they'll break if we're not there to watch them." Anko said with a genuine smile.

"At least I'm keeping my promise to Tondo-hime that I'd bring you back, even if my original estimates were off." he replied with his own smile.

Guilt flashed through her before she pushed it away. Her Fukitsu-kun was back and she was going to try and enjoy as much of it as she could. At least he seemed to harbor no ill will toward her.

* * *

The week it took them to get back was incredibly eventful. Sure it really should have only taken four days but after Naruto's incessant questioning about their new traveling partner, why Shino and Ino were being so weird around him and Anko, and whining about how he hadn't been able to really 'go wild' as he called it because Fukitsu had stolen his fight. It only took a day of this before the white haired shinobi decided to humor him. This however was incredibly unfortunate for Shino and Ino as they had been wrangled into the spar as well.

After finding a suitable clearing the three Genin took their places facing off against Fukitsu while Anko cackled madly from her perch in a nearby tree. A shiver ran through the woman's spine as the helmet that had been absent since she had seen him on the ship appeared out of nowhere, instantly covering his head. His very stance exuded danger and barely restrained violence. Something that had been conspicuously absent since he had come across them. The match began with the simple declaration 'Prepare' and what followed was single most one sided spar Anko had ever seen. All twenty-four seconds of it.

Naruto instantly created somewhere around thirty shadow clones that were completely ignored by Fukitsu who instead barreled straight for Shino. The black clad shinobi somehow shot a grappling hook from the underside of his wrist that hit the unsuspecting Aburame in the middle of his forehead. Before either of his team mates could react Shino was tackled by a flying Fukitsu who had ran through the Genin's cloud of bugs with a flash of fire. The two ninja disappeared into the ground leaving Naruto looking around frantically for their opponent while Ino moved herself to the middle of the group of orange clad clones.

Ino shouted in panic as she felt hands grab her ankles before she was pulled below the earth. Naruto only caught a glance of the tips of her fingers as she was dragged away. Leaving the blonde alone in the clearing with only himself for company. A slight rustling sound was his only warning as his world exploded into chaos.

Anko had a clear view from her spot in the tree and what she was seeing could be summed up in one word, spectacular, amazing, awe inspiring. Alright, so there was more than one word that could describe the spar. Regardless of the actual number of pronouns that applied to this situation there was only one that her old acquaintance would find acceptable no matter how much it contradicted what many thought a battle between shinobi should be, anti-climactic. There were no speeches, posturings, or gloating. Absent was the long pauses of sizing up your opponent, strings of hand seals, shouting of jutsu's and their accompanying of flashy moves.

Something stirred in her stomach as she watched Fukitsu dive into the group of Naruto's from the edge of the clearing. Coming out of his roll in a hand stand he began to spin. The power of his blows increasing as his revolutions climbed. The centripetal force of his motions increasing the damage of his attacks.

Her vision was obsecured as more Naruto's disappeared into what could only be described as the human blender. And indeed the scene before could easily have appeared as such if the clones were real opponents and Fukitsu applied chakra scalpels to his feet like Anko remembered him doing in the past. Soon Narutos started flying out of the smoke created by the dispelling clones like sparks from a firecracker.

After a few more seconds another Naruto was seen airborne, this time with Fukitsu riding on his back like he was a surf board. The black clad shinobi had his left hand buried in the blonde's hair, his left foot running along the back of the Genin's neck while his right hand was holding two senbon that were sticking out of where Naruto's kidneys were. Anko cringed as the two ninja collided with the ground only to see them both sink smoothly out of sight. Seeing no more movement she leapt from her perch and greeted Fukitsu as he drug the three unconscious shinobi to the middle of the clearing.

It had taken until the morning of the third day before Shino, Naruto, and Ino recovered. Resuming their trip in blissful silence, as even Naruto seemed mellow after his resounding defeat. Unfortunately this did not last as during the afternoon of their fifth day the group stumbled upon a small trading and travelers caravan that had been attacked by bandits that morning. Naruto being his normal chivalrous self volunteered them to help return the stolen goods and one girl that had been taken as a hostage to prevent anyone in the caravan from coming after them.

Anko had hammered out the details of their impromptu contact before the group of shinobi set out after the attackers. They happened upon the bandits as they were moving through the forest talking loudly and boastfully while a crying girl was in the middle of the group being pulled by a rope tied around her neck. The Jonin had pulled the Genin in to come up with a plan of attack when she noticed Fukitsu had disappeared. It was that moment that the screaming began.

From their vantage point the team watched as Fukitsu materialized in front of the man holding the rope attached to the girl. With a glint of black the man's abdomen opened up spilling his insides on the forest floor. Grabbing the now free hostage he slipped back into the earth as if it were water. The small group of bandits huddled in fear, shouting obscenities at the trees as one of their own tried to stuff his entrails back into his body cavity. Eventually one of them took pity on him and swung his ax at the back of the man's neck killing him instantly. Then one by one the remaining bandits disappeared accompanied by their yelps of surprise and a rustle of leaves. The entire operation had taken three minutes.

The silence was broken by the sounds of Naruto and Ino emptying their stomachs. Shino had looked more than a little green but was able to keep his food down. Fukitsu returned to the team carrying the girl in his arms as she clung desperately to his shirt. The return trip to the caravan was a mostly quiet affair as the two blondes were staying as far away from the newest shinobi as they could while he tried to console the crying female. Her sobs only relenting after she was safely amongst her family. The group continued their trek home, this time Naruto staying quiet the entire time.

Anko pulled the group to the side of the dirt road they were traveling on when they were half a mile away from Konoha. The three Genin under her command looked at her expectantly, well, two of them did. Naruto took this moment to remind them he had a voice.

"Ne, why are we stopping Anko-san? We're almost home!"

Anko ignored him and focused on Fukitsu.

"It's time Fukitsu-kun. I'll try to make them comfortable." regret tinging her voice.

"No no Taiyaki-chan, you should show them how to do it properly. I doubt any of them have even seen a pair before." he said with a smile.

Tears threatened to spill from the Jonin's eyes as the ghost from her past turned away from her in the direction of Konoha. Pulling a pair of handcuffs from a pocket of her trench coat Anko saw Fukitsu had already put his hands behind his back.

"What's going on Anko-san?" Naruto asked, his voice sounding a million miles away to the kunoichi.

Ino gasped as she recognized what Anko was holding.

"Those are chakra repressing cuffs Naruto."

"But was is she putting them on Fukitsu-san?" he asked confused at the turn of events.

"They're used on captured missing-nin to prevent them from using any jutsu's during transportation." Shino said, speaking for the first time.

"Missing-nin? How can Fukitsu-san be a missing-nin? He helped in the Land of Waves and with rescuing that girl, he can't possibly be bad." Naruto tried to reason.

"Not all missing-nin are bad Naruto-san. Some of them are indeed criminals, others however, are marked as such just for leaving the village." the Aburame supplied.

Naruto moved forward to approach their team leader but was restrained by a hand on his shoulder. Looking back he saw Ino shake her head.

Anko stared at Fukitsu's wrist as the chakra-cuffs hung in her hand like fifty pounds of dead weight. Emotions warred within her as she hesitated. Ever since her memories of him returned as he returned in a fit of violence and death Anko had been able to pretend that the past indeed hadn't happened. That she hadn't left the village with her bastard of a master. That she hadn't sold him out to said bastard when her friend had given up everything to come and find her. And that she hadn't inflicted what could be classified as the most horrific punishment to ever give another human being. Honestly she thought he would be better off if she had just killed him herself. How he was still managing to smile at her and go on like nothing ever happened she didn't understand.

To her every step closer to Konoha was harder than the one before, each hour was agonizing as she knew the ending to the dream she had been living in the past few days was coming up. Hell, she hadn't even gotten any sleep the night before. Instead she had stayed up and watched the sleeping white haired shinobi. He had woken up sometime in dark of the early morning and had just given her a smile and reached out and squeezed her thigh before rolling back over to sleep. Now here he was willingly giving himself back to the village knowing the fate that awaited him. The fact he had set out all those years ago with this same ending as the outcome left Anko shaken.

She was pulled back to reality by a gentle squeeze of her hand. Looking down she saw Fukitsu was trying to comfort her still. Not caring about the three genin that were watching Anko threw herself at her old friend for the second time since he returned to her life. Clutching him to her chest she buried her face into his back tears once again streaming down her face. Naruto, Ino, and Shino were mercifully quiet as the typically violent jonin expended her pent up emotions. After a few moments Anko managed to calm herself down. Regaining her professionalism she put the cuffs on Fukitsu and the group continued it's march to Konoha.


End file.
